Dismay for renewable energy fanatics, but common sense from the perspective that about 80% of total UK energy use is from fuel burning. Increasing the reliance on imports while ignoring available energy at home would be expensive and pointless.
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Six North Sea oil and gas fields are set to be given the green light this year, according to newspaper reports this morning.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has asked Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, to fast-track the licenses amid Treasury fears over the economic impact of making the UK a net zero carbon emitter by 2050, says AGCC news.
The Telegraph reports that several Cabinet ministers believe the pace of net zero is too fast, and that the UK must continue exploring its domestic fossil fuel reserves to prevent it becoming over-reliant on foreign imports.
Drilling to begin
The six oil and gas areas, which have already been given a preliminary licence by ministers, are expected to be given approval by Britain’s oil and gas regulator to begin construction of rigs in the North Sea.
Drilling of oil and gas could begin in the Rosebank field, to the west of Shetland, and at the Jackdaw, Marigold, Brodick and Catcher sites in the central North Sea.
A sixth site, Tolmount East, had been intended to be approved by the Oil and Gas Authority last year but is now expected in 2022.
Despite calls for all domestic fossil fuel extraction to be halted, ministers have pledged to continue to support oil and gas production while renewable energy sources are developed.
The Chancellor told parliament: “There are £11 billion of projects lined up to go. I want to unlock that investment because that is good for this country, good for British jobs and good for our energy security.”
Full article here.
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
Classic from The Telegraph:
But renewable energy sources, many of which are reliant on sunny or windy weather, are not yet well developed enough to provide the country’s power alone 🤣
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/02/07/six-north-sea-oil-gas-fields-fired-amid-cabinet-row-net-zero/
What kind of ‘development’ do these wafflers think might happen? Insert miracle solutions here…
What’s that scratching noise? Oh, it’s Dishy Rishi’s name being crossed out on media pundit’s lists of preferred replacements for Boris.
[…] Six new UK oil and gas fields to be fired up as Sunak takes action […]
[…] Six new UK oil and gas fields to be fired up as Sunak takes action […]
Andrew Montford said on Talk Radio that these fields would have been approved this year anyway. They just brought the announcement forward 6 months.
Rishi’s recognition that this announcement will appeal to the voters after the flood of negative publicity for the government dominating the news lately is a good sign anyway. He, at least seems in touch with reality, unlike Boris et al. It shows a bit of realism breaking through. Maybe they will do something to encourage the exploitation of the Cambo field next! Fingers crossed! Could be a sign that the renewables worm is finally turning amongst parliamentarians.
XR and the rest of the climate botherers can’t glue themselves to the North Sea.
They can’t glue themselves to the North Sea, unfortunately, but word on the street is that XR will shortly be targeting petrol stations and oil refineries. That’ll go down well with the great unwashed I’m sure.
so reality crashes into Dream world aka Clown World.
Even more galling is that Britain (and others) are sitting on billions of cubic feet of natgas that was put off limits mostly by forbidding fracking to release it. The entire UK and US are suffering from the jackassary of our pols. Just how many ‘green’ voters do they think are out here vs. all the white and blue collar regular Joe’s and Jill’s?? In reality, I don’t think they actually care about voters.
Russia (and earlier, Venezuela) and OPEC have out maneuvered our pols at every turn. My guess is that VERY large remunerations have been paid or promised to crash OUR sources to force our people to pony up to buy foreign sources. Just a guess on my part but the actions support it.
[…] Six new UK oil and gas fields to be fired up as Sunak takes action […]
Great line OB. I tweeted it out. Some hilarious responses.
Oil is still in big demand, or this wouldn’t be happening…
Guyana’s Oil Boom Has Been Amazing For Its Economy
Feb 08, 2022
– Guyana is undergoing a major economic transformation driven by a massive oil boom.
– The IMF expects the tiny South American country’s GDP to expand by a remarkable 49% during 2022.
– Exxon is making significant investments in offshore Guyana and expanding its drilling efforts in a big way.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Guyanas-Oil-Boom-Has-Been-Amazing-For-Its-Economy.html
Our children won’t know what snow is – UPDATE
Tories fighting net zero plans are dragging climate into new culture war, experts say
‘Two leading members have links to an organisation, often described as “climate-sceptic”, that was founded by the long-term climate denier Nigel Lawson. The group’s chair, the MP Craig Mackinlay, has also been accused by a leading climate institute of using misleading and inaccurate information.’
Michael Mann, one of the world’s leading authorities on the climate and author of The New Climate War, said the group appeared to be attempting to drag climate policies into a culture war, which he described as a “dangerous new tactic being used by those opposed to addressing the ecological emergency”.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/feb/08/tories-fighting-net-zero-plans-are-dragging-climate-into-new-culture-war-experts-say
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Carbon dioxide at 0.04% of the atmosphere is causing an ecological emergency? How’s that for being ‘misleading and inaccurate’? 🙄
UK fracking RIP…
End of fracking as Cuadrilla ordered to abandon last two viable wells despite energy crisis
Ruling to press ahead with closure described as ‘utter madness’ by Tory MPs who support controversial drilling
9 February 2022
Fracking advocates argue that the Government’s refusal to approve the extraction technique will mean that up to 37 trillion cubic metres located in the Bowland Shale gas formation will remain unused – a small proportion of which could meet the UK’s gas needs for 50 years.
. . .
Francis Egan, chief executive of Cuadrilla, said: “Shale gas from the North of England has the potential to meet the UK’s energy needs for decades to come, yet ministers have chosen now, at the height of an energy crisis, to take us to this point.
He added: “Once these wells are filled with cement and abandoned it will be incredibly costly and difficult to rectify this mistake at the Preston New Road site.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/02/09/end-fracking-cuadrilla-ordered-abandon-last-two-viable-wells/
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Just pay the extortionate energy bills and repeat the moronic mantra: net zero, net zero…
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